Sick Day
by Maripose
Summary: Mulder's home sick and Scully has come over to help him out
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Scully sat at hers and Mulder's desk, waiting for said man to appear. She stared at the computer screen, a blank document open and the case file in front of her.

The case Mulder and she had just worked had been mildly typical. They argued about whether or not the creepy looking kid in a small southern town was secretly an alien abduction victim.

She had been right; he was just a weird kid with an odd birth defect.

Just another case where Mulder had wasted both their times in the pursuit of something, 'Out Of This World'.

She sat back and looked at the clock. Thirty minutes late.

Very Un-Mulder like.

If he wasn't here in thirty more minutes, Mulder was going to get a phone call from a very angered Dana Scully.

So Scully sat back and began her paperwork for the monumental time waste of a case on her desk.

The minutes slipped by quickly for Scully, and before she knew it, it had been an hour since she had decided to call Mulder, and she still had not seen hide or hair of the man.

She leaned over and picked up her office phone and dialed his home phone number.

On the third ring a tired and sore voice answered, "Mulder."

Scully was suddenly sorry she had called, "Hey Mulder, it's Scully. You hadn't come in, and I didn't hear anything, and I wanted to see what was up."

Mulder coughed on the other end before answering, "Sick. Sorry for not calling you. I called the Skinner's assistant."

Scully felt even worse, "I'm sorry Mulder. I hope you feel better."

He 'hmmd' on the other end and coughed again.

"I'll bring you some soup tonight, ok?" Scully offered, trying to make up for the fact that she had probably woken the sick man up.

"No, Scully, it's fine. You don't-"

Scully cut Mulder off, "Well, I'm going to. I'll stop at home and pick up some things, then go to your place and make you some soup."

Mulder coughed one more time, "If you insist. See you tonight Dana."

Scully was quieted at the use of her first name as the phone disconnected at the other end. She pulled the phone away from her ear, looked down at it and raised an eyebrow, before she put the receiver back into the cradle.

"Alright then."

She then went back to work on her file, hoping to get it in to Skinner before lunch so she could take the rest of the day off and go home to make Mulder some soup.

She didn't have anything else to do today anyway.

She laid the file on Skinner's secretary's desk turned to the woman, "I'm going to take the rest of the day off. Can you tell the A.D. for me please?"

The woman nodded and Scully turned and left to go back to the basement office to collect her things together and go home.

Scully stood in front of Mulder's apartment, one arm holding a bag containing her home-made soup for the sick man, her other hand holding the key to his apartment as she tried to fit it into his lock.

Before she could fully unlock the door it was unlocked from the other side and the door pulled away from her.

In the doorway stood a very bedraggled tired looking Fox Mulder. He nodded to Scully before turning his back on her and walking back to his couch, his shoulders slumped and feet dragging slightly in his exhausted state.

Scully walked in and took her key from the lock before closing the door behind her and locking it. She walked the rest of the way in and entered the kitchen, setting down her bag on the counter top.

"Sorry if I woke you trying to open the door." She took the container out and set it down, balling up the plastic bag and throwing it away.

"No, I was awake. I haven't been able to sleep. My head's too fuzzy." Mulder tiredly answered from the next room.

Scully tsk'd, "You should have told me, I would have stopped off and brought you some medicine."

Mulder hissed from the next room, "Medicine? Like, from stores? Scully, come on. You know what they put in that stuff. I'd never put that poison in me."

Scully rolled her eyes as she grabbed a bowl from the cupboard above the stove, "Can you not be so paranoid for just a few days Mulder? You're sick, let it go."

Another scoff, "Please, this would be the best time to get at me, while I'm sick and weak. I can barely stand on my own right now Scully, let alone fight for the truth!" As his voice rose in a mock yell, it was cut off with a sharp cough that sounded wracking and painful and caused Scully to wince.

"Oh keep your voice down He-Man. You'll kill yourself if you're not careful." She washed her hands before dipping a slender finger into the soup, checking the heat of it before she shrugged and licked the soup off her finger, picking the bowl up in her other hand and carrying it to the other room.

She stood in front of the TV, soup in hand as she placed the bowl on the table in front of the sick man.

Mulder sat up to make room for Scully on the couch and leaned forward to pull the bowl closer to him, his shoulders hunched under the blanket he had pulled over himself.

Scully sat down next to him and kicked her shoes off before leaning back on the couch and pulling her legs up to tuck them under herself.

The pair sat quietly, watching a scratchy black and white movie on the TV, Mulder eating his soup and Scully occasionally rubbing has back.

When the soup finished Mulder sat back and looked at Scully, catching her eye before using his shoulder to nudge her over. The small woman slid to the end of the couch, a confused look on her face.

Mulder laid down, adjusting the blanket around himself so that he could remain wrapped, his feet hanging off the end of the couch as he laid his head in Scully lap.

The woman looked mildly amused as she tangled her fingers in Mulder's hair, beginning to pet the man as his eyes slipped closed.

With a small moan, Mulder was fast asleep his breathing even when not punctuated by snores.

Scully kept up petting Mulder's head even when he was asleep before she too was consumed by comfort and let her head fall back against the couch, asleep.

When Mulder awoke, his head felt much better and his sinuses had cleared some. Scully magical witches brew had worked! He was mostly cured!

He sat up and looked to his side to see the sleeping Scully. When he realized she was still asleep, he tried to not jostle her too much as he got up, laying the blanket he had used on the sleeping form and heading off to his bathroom to shower days' worth of fever sweat off of his body.

After he was showered and in a loose pair of sweat pants he walked back out into his living room, Scully still asleep on the couch.

Scully quietly approached the woman and watcher her face.

She was calm, something he saw rarely, and even more rarely seen, her face wasn't tense. Her whole body was loose muscles. Mulder reveled in the sight and imprinted it into his memory.

Her lips were slightly parted to take in air, and her eyes shifted beneath her lids, her expression lax.

Mulder put one hand on the back of the couch and leaned in, bringing his face within inches of Scully's.

Scully's head rolled to the left facing Mulder more and a small noise escaped her before she settled back into normal breathy sleep noises.

Mulder reached his other hand up and slipped some loose hair behind her ear, feeling the warmth of his hand against her face, letting his hand linger there for a moment.

With his hand softly on her face Mulder thought about the woman in front of him. His partner, his other half. The person who knew him better than anyone else, and someone he knew just as well.

They had seen each other at their highs, laughing and happy, celebrating.

They had pulled the other up from their lows, loss of family, or hopes, aspirations, dreams.

Before Mulder realized it, his eyes were closed and he had laid his lips against Scully's sleeping ones in a chaste kiss.

Mulder felt a hand fall upon the one he had on Scully's face.

He pulled away both hand and face from Scully to see the woman's eyes open, her hand raised to him.

"Scully! I…I was-"

Scully looked away from Mulder's flushed face before a look of realization slid onto her face.

"Oh."

With that one word Scully stood up and rushed to the front door of the apartment, fumbling with the lock before throwing the door open and walking out, leaving Mulder dumbfounded by the couch.

"Fuck."

After a few seconds Mulder rushed to his door and looked out into the hallway, hoping Scully had stopped.

She had not.

Mulder shut the door on the empty hallway and locked it.

He trudged his way back to his couch and sat down heavily.

"Oh, fuck."

He rested his elbows upon his knees and laid his head on hands.

"I'm so fucked."

A.N. My first MulderXScully! Ooo I'm excited! Aren't you? Also, I have no clue what this will be rated. I'm still mulling that one over! Enjoy!

Also, please feel free to review! Let me know what you think, or if there are any flaws or grammar mistakes!

~Maripose


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER II

Mulder sat in the apartment, head still in his hands for an hour longer, his mind racing, stomach in knots.

He felt a push of bile up his esophagus and rushed to the bathroom before expelling the soup Scully had made him not much earlier.

He sat down hard next to the toilet and laid his forehead against the rim.

His chest heaved, head pounding.

His mind kept spinning, causing his thoughts to develop vortex with one thought at its center, Scully's face.

The look she had given him before she bolted caused his stomach to heave again.

He was so fucked at work tomorrow.

The next morning outside of his office, Mulder paused and took a deep breath, trying to keep calm.

He could do this.

He opened the door and stepped into his office.

Scully had already been in, her laptop set up and on was a sure sign of that.

Mulder heaved a sigh and sat down at his desk, leaning over to turn his computer on. As he sat back with a tired sigh, his body weary and exhausted from very small amounts of restless sleep last night, Scully walked in with two cups of coffee.

"Oh, you're here." She walked over and set the cup down in front of him and turned to sit herself in front of her own computer and flipped an old file open from a stack in front of her and began typing away.

Mulder cleared his throat and looked away from her, "Scully, about yester-" Scully cut him off.

"It's fine Mulder. I brought you soup, we watched TV, I fell asleep, then woke up and left." She kept her eyes on her screen, fingers still continuously typing away.

Each keystroke hit Mulder deeply, only gouging the chasm that her flippant brush off had created in his chest.

Scully started as Mulder slammed his hands down on the desk and stood up, his arms shaking. "No Scully, that's NOT what happened. It isn't and you know it. I kissed you goddamnit. I kissed you because I fucking love you." Mulder kept his head down breathing heavily, his eyes wide open with the sudden realization of what he had said without thinking.

Oh God, he thought. Oh God I love Scully. I love Scully so much I'd die for her. Oh Fuck.

His stomach clenched again.

He was going to puke.

He lurched towards the door, his legs shaking, a rushing sound filling his ears, drowning out the sound of Scully yelling his name.

He made it halfway to the elevator before he collapsed and began to retch, his body spasming harshly as his stomach emptied what little substance he had tried to eat this morning onto the floor under him.

Scully was at his side, hands smoothing his sweaty hair from his head, trying to talk to him and keep him somewhat calm as she shakily pulled out her cellphone and called Skinner's office.

"Mulder's collapsed in the basement, please call an ambulance."

She hung up the phone and continued to help Mulder, holding his head up and facing the floor to keep him from choking on anything.

His body shook, tremors wracking the prone form.

Scully leaned over the figure, her head low and mouth close to his ear as she whispered a litany of comforting phrases, telling the sick and distraught man that he shouldn't worry himself, that he shouldn't have let himself get his bad, that she needed him to hold on, that she needed him too, that she loved him.

Mulder lay shivering in Scully's arms, body still shaking violently. He listened to the worried woman's words and grasped onto her declaration of love desperately, as a man afloat in a sea would grasp a life preserve.

He listened to Skinner's arrival and the thundering steps of men coming out of the elevator before allowing himself to succumb to darkness.

Scully stayed by his side as the paramedics lifted the limp form and strapped it to gurney.

She held tight to his hand, insisting on being by his side the entire ride to the hospital.

She was only pulled away as the paramedics pulled Mulder into the ER.

She began to fight off orderlies and nurses trying to keep her out of the ER, ignoring her yells that she was a doctor, that she had to be with him

She only began to calm when firm hands grabbed her shoulders. "Agent Scully, you need to calm down. Now."

She looked up at the A.D. "He COLLAPSED Skinner! He was so sick he collapsed! Oh God, it's all my fault. He kissed me and I bolted. He was probably freaking out and over thinking all night. I'm such a horrible person!"

Scully's eyes watered and the Assistant Director of the F.B.I. saw something not many living people had, he saw Dana Scully cry.

She held onto Skinner's shoulder, head bowed and began to sob. Her chest heaved with her tears, and Skinner pulled the distraught woman into a hug, cradling her small form to his larger one until the sobbing subsided into quieter tears.

He led her towards an empty row of chairs against one side of the room and let her sit down before crouching in front of her.

He lightly gripped Scully's skin and tilted her face up to look at his.

"Agent Scully, I have no clue what you're talking about. I'm going to assume something happened between you and Agent Mulder last night. He will be fine Scully. He's not dying, just keep it together and talk to him." Skinner laid a hand on the side of Scully's face, concern and love lying bare in his eyes.

Love for his two favorite agents, and love for the small woman in front of him especially.

"Sir, I believe that's the most heartfelt I've ever heard you."

Skinner coughed and stood up awkwardly, retracting his eyes from Scully's form, "Yes. Well. I'm going to go get some coffee." And he walked away from the red headed woman who sat back in her chair.

She tilted her head down and rested her forward on her palms, her elbows propped up on her knees in the same manner Mulder had after she left him last night.

She felt terrible. He had kissed her and she had freaked out.

The man she trusted with her life and loved more than anyone else had kissed her, and she had shoved him away.

How dense was she!

And knowing Mulder as well as she did, the sick man had exhausted himself by staying up all night thinking,

She wished she had just called him.

If she had just called him, and talked about it, like adults, everything would be ok.

Hell, she might even be waking up with him right now.

Her cheeks coloured at the thought.

Yup, definitely a dolt.

The more she thought about it, the worse she felt.

She began to feel like she had shot the poor man all over again.

A shadow fell over her and she sat back again to see Skinner holding two Styrofoam cups,, one close to his chest, the other held out to her. She took it and the tall man sat next to her with a sigh.

"I asked a nurse, she said that they're still checking him over, but he seems mostly ok. A bad bump on the head and mild dehydration. Nothing too horrible. We can visit him soon."

He blew on his coffee before taking a sip and looking around the room before settling his eyes back on Scully's face.

"So…Want let me know what happened last night? Something about a kiss?" Skinner kept a smile at bay as Scully's cheeks flamed red and she sunk low into her chair.

A.N. So, I wrote this on my phone at school and just spent 30~ish mins getting it onto my computer. I almost made an awkward Skinner/Scully move there, but n'awwww. I'll save it for Snowed In. SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE! THANK YOU FOR READING!

What was I listening to?

Velvet Goldmine OST

Maroon 5's Songs About Jane and It Won't Be Soon Before Long.

I love you all, let me know what you think!

~Maripose


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Scully sat with Skinner for a while longer before a Doctor walked into the waiting room, raising a chart and reading a name off, "Mulder?"

Scully stood and walked to the man, "I'm his partner."

The doctor looked skeptically at her before glancing to the man who was now standing behind Scully, "Family?"

Scully fidgeted her hands and looked away, "Well, no."

"Spouse?"

"At one point…"

The doctor glanced at her, "Excuse me Ma'am?"

More fidgeting, a sigh. "No."

"Girlfriend?"

Scully's face flamed at she caught the doctor's eye, "No. Not exactly. Partner, from work."

Skinner laid a hand on Scully's shoulder and stepped forward, showing his badge to the doctor, "I'm his boss. Just tell us the room number."

The doctor's eyebrows rose as he looked at Skinner's badge before turning his back, "Follow me, I'll bring you to the room. He's a bit groggy, but we're trying to keep him awake, want to make sure he doesn't have a concussion."

Scully hurried along behind the man, attempting to keep her hands calmly at her sides, her tense shoulders giving away how upset she was by the situation.

The doctor showed brought them up one level and showed them down a white hallway before stopping at a door with the numbers 101-3, "He's in there. Just, don't get him too riled up, he was pretty sick. We have him on some fluids, but he should get to leave by about 6 tonight."

Scully rushed in as the Skinner held the doctor back and talked to the man a bit.

Mulder was watching TV as he was lying on the hospital bed, his clothes folded on the night stand next to him.

He turned to see who had walked in, a smile gracing his lips as he saw it was Scully. He pointed up to the TV, an excited grin on his face.

"They get porn here! Can you believe that Scully! Porn!" Mulder turned back to the lewd program before shutting off the TV and set the remote on his folded clothes on the chair next to his bed.

Scully sat in a chair placed next to the bed, "How are you feeling Mulder?"

He leaned back into the pillows behind him, the goofy smile still on his face, "Better. I feel loads better. Guess all I needed was to pass out." He laughed at the disapproving look on Scully' face, "No need to worry your pretty little red head. The Doc says I should be out of here by tonight."

Scully gave a weak attempt at a smile but it slid off her face quickly, "Mulder look, I'm so sorry about-"

Mulder let his hand land on one of hers, "Think nothing of it. It was my mistake. Let's just forget the whole thing, yeah?"

He looked earnestly into her face, trying to keep his as neutral as possible, as away from his true feelings of breaking apart in the wake of her rejection away from his expression.

"No Mulder, you don't understand. When I said-" Before Scully could finish Mulder's doctor walked in, cutting off the small red headed woman.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Could I speak with Mr. Mulder, alone." The man stood in his white coat holding a chart, not having the wherewithal left after speaking to Skinner and a full shift to even appear bashful.

Scully stood suddenly, pulling her hand away from Mulder's and keeping her face trained on the Doctor's, "Yes, of course. I'll just be, right outside with Skinner." And with that, the small woman hurried out the door to meet her bosses inquisitive face.

"Well?"

Scully sighed and leaned against the wall next to Skinner, "He said his doctor was going let him out of the Hospital tonight if all keeps going well. He's fine. Just a bump on the head, some exhaustion. He probably shouldn't come into work for a few days."

Skinner sighed and put an arm around the diminutive woman's shoulders, "That's not what I was asking, and you know it."

She nodded, dipping her head low, "I know Sir."

He squeezed her shoulder once and was contented to just let her lean against him, "Ok. We're not talking about it. But please know Dana, I'm here if you need someone to talk to, even outside of a professional capacity."

She nodded, her head keeping low.

Skinner sighed again and pulled her to stand in front of him, pulling her head to rest against his chest, one arm wrapped around her upper back, the other hand resting against the top of her head.

"I'm sorry Dana. I know this whole situation is taxing and rough. Everything will seem fine soon. It always works out between you two. You know it does."

She nodded, her eyes and Skinner's shirt remaining dry and tear free. One arm of hers slipping around the tall man's waist, "Thank you Sir. This is…Immensely helpful."

He smiled and leaned his head down to rest a cheek on the top of his Agent's head, "Anytime. Now, why don't you head home and rest and think some and I'll take Agent Mulder home? Some time alone to think and relax and just not worry about things might do you some good, don't you think?"

The red head under his head nodded and took a step back, shaking her head quickly before looking up at the man in front of her.

"You're very right, thank you Sir. I'll see you tomorrow at the office. Please make sure Mulder doesn't come in. You know he's going to try"

A laugh bubbled up from the man, "I'll do my best Agent. Now go. Head home, sleep, relax. See you tomorrow."

The man stepped around the woman and headed into the room in front of them.

Scully sighed and walked out the nearest exit of the hospital, hailed a cab, and took a quiet ride home, her mind stuck on Mulder flat in the hallway, sick, and all her fault.

She sat back in her bed and lay the folder down, her eyes throbbing. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table, two ten am, and decided that sleep would just have to be forced.

She'd put all thoughts of Mulder down and just sleep.

She turned the light off, slid the folder to the edge of the left side of her bed, and rolled onto her right side, and closed her eyes.

She listened to the quiet street outside.

She heard the rooms shift around her.

She heard the awkward chirp of those stupid birds that couldn't just realize it was two in the morning and it was not, so they seemed to think, the middle of the day.

She lay flat on her back, hands resting on her stomach, and sighed.

Closed her eyes once again, and tried to just let everything slow to a non-existent crawl in her mind and allow her heartbeat to lull her to sleep.

And then the knock happened.

It startled her and she sat up, thinking she had misheard it.

It was someone else's door getting knocked on in the middle of the night.

Another rap followed.

Nope, her door.

She laid her feet on her cold floor and flinched back.

Ok, cold floor, slippers time.

She fished the slippers out from under her bed with her toes before sliding her feet into the cozy warmth.

Meanwhile, someone was very insistently knocking on her door.

She grabbed her robe from the back of her bedroom door and walked quickly to the door, throwing it open in irritation.

"It's two am, what the hell do you-Mulder! You should be at home! Asleep! What the hell are you doing here!" The small woman held her place in her doorway, arm still on the door, barring all entry into her domain.

"Well, Skinner drove me home a few hours ago and insisted on staying until now. He said he had to talk to me, make sure I fell asleep. He's asleep on my couch now. Can I come in?" The man stood before her in light gray sweatpants and a slip on jacket.

Scully glanced over her shoulder into her darkened apartment before looking back at Mulder, "I'm not so sure. It's late, you really should be at home asleep. You just got out of the Hospital Mulder."

Mulder smiled at her concern before laying a hand on her shoulder, "Well, I'm already here. Might as well just let me crash here, right?"

Scully heaved a sigh and looked at him, "Mulder, about the hospital-"

He pushed her hand gently away from the doorjamb and brushed passed her, "No need to say a thing Scully. All is fine and forgotten. Guest room's this way right?" and the tall man hurried off down the hallway leading to the bathroom, guestroom, and master bedroom.

Scully closed the door behind him and sighed.

Yup, no sleep tonight. She might as well call in sick tomorrow because she wasn't going to be able to do anything tomorrow with no sleep tonight.

Sleep claimed Dana Scully at about five am soon after she called in sick to work.

She was awoken at six am but A.D. Skinner knocking on her door asking if Mulder was there.

She said yes. The man nodded gravely and left, only smirking after Dana had closed the door and he was halfway down her buildings hallway.

She was awoken yet again at seven am by something warm nudging her onto her side and curling itself tight to her back.

She moaned in exhaustion and gave a push to the warm thing with her ass, whining, "Go away Missy. I'm tired and don't give a shit if you're afraid of the dark." Before falling back to sleep.

She missed the huffed laughter that mingled with the hairs on the top of her head in her sleep.

She woke again at twelve in the afternoon, bleary eyed and still tired.

She stretched and wiggled her body so she was laying on her opposite site and slid her nose against the warm hard plane in front her, breathing in deeply and knocking the top of her head against the bony chin resting on top of her head.

Her eyes sprang open and she jolted back, her hands shoving against the chest in front of her and legs kicking out to smash against bares ones in a slamming kicking motion.

She sat up and grabbed the gun from her bed side table and swung it down to rest at the grumbling prone body on her floor.

"Never surprise an F.B.I. agent, gotcha."

Scully lowered the gun and looked down at the man on her floor, "Mulder, what the fuck."

She raised the gun again and switch the safety on, leveling the barrel on the man's shoulder, "If you did a damn thing to me other than crawl into my bed speak now and I might not shoot you. I've done it once, I'll do it the fuck again."

Mulder started to stand and got ready to get back on the bed when Scully clicked her tongue to her teeth and used the gun to gesture away from the edge of her bed, "Don't even think about it. Stay right there, bed creeper."

He sighed and stepped back holding his hands palm up next to his head, "Gotcha. Listen to the lady with the gun."

Scully snorted, "Duh. Now, explain."

Mulder sighed and leaned against the window sill at his back, "Your guest room was cold."

Scully put the gun back into her bedside table and leveled her gaze on him again, "So you hopped into my bed? Mulder, you've been here enough to know where the blankets are. Come on now, really?"

He huffed and looked over his shoulder outside, "Well, we're close. I figured you wouldn't mind letting a sick man just out of the hospital into your bed!"

Scully raised an eyebrow, un-amused and blank faced, "So you could get me sick? Thank you Mulder. That's just what I wanted, to be sick."

He chuckled and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I'm sorry ok. I just-I wanted to-I was cold and it just, seemed like a good idea. I'm sorry. I am. I'll just, head back to my room now, ok?"

Mulder stood away from the window and let his arms fall to his sides and started to walk towards Scully's bedroom door.

Scully huffed and leaned back against her headboard, "Mulder."

The man stopped in the open door way and turned to face the red head in her bed, "Yeeees Ms. Scully?"

"You're not too much of a sick moron to make me pancakes, are you?"

Mulder laid a hand to his chest and let out a high pitched huff, "Me? You doubt my pancake skills? Scully, you wound me!"

Scully rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah. Blueberries in the freezer, hop to it Spooky."

Mulder walked off to the kitchen, a smile spreading his face as he heard the shower switch on in the direction of Scully's room.

He got out a bowl and a skillet and began to rifle through the freezer for the blueberries, "Yeah, I'll make you pancakes, pancakes so good you'll love me. That'll show you, little red headed Minx."

Mulder continued to mutter to himself as he began the pancake process, a smile in semi-permanent residence on the man's face.

A.N. BAM. Chapter III! Only took, like, fifty billion months. I'm sorry. I just, slumped. I just couldn't care anymore and I'm so sorry. I'm writing again now! And it looks like I'll have a lot of time for writing, no job and all, and my college doesn't start for like, another 2 months, lucky all you! I'm also working on my other fanfics, and some new fandoms now too!

Love,

Maripose!

(written to Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long, We Are Scientists – With Love and Squallor, Skrillex)


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